This week in Pac-12 Men's Basketball - Feb. 24, 2021

COMPLETE RELEASE

#PAC12HOOPS STARTING FIVE:

4 + 1 - According to BracketMatrix.com, an aggregator of bracketologies, the Pac-12 is currently slated for four NCAA Tournament bids (4-USC; 8-COLORADO; 9-UCLA; 9-OREGON) plus a fifth among First Four Out (STANFORD).
• STANFORD (19) and COLORADO (15) lead all major conference programs in games away from home.

4 - Four future and former Pac-12 stars earned recognition as 2021 McDonald’s All-Americans or 2021 NBA All-Stars this week:
McDonald’s All-Americans: Nathan Bittle - OREGON; Harrison Ingram - STANFORD; Peyton Watson - UCLA; Jackson Grant - WASHINGTON.
NBA All-Stars: James Harden - ARIZONA STATE; Jaylen Brown - CALIFORNIA; Zach LaVine - UCLA; Nikola Vucevic - USC.
• It marks the seventh time in the past decade the Pac-12 boasted at least four McDonald’s All-Americans.

7 x 14 - Seven Pac-12 programs have reached 14 overall victories through Feb. 23 games, 1-of-3 conferences in the country with as many teams with 14-or-more wins (Big Ten - 7; Big 12 - 7).
• USC currently leads all major conference programs with 19 overall victories.

#19 - No. 19 USC is enjoying one of its best seasons in recent history at 19-4 overall and 13-3 in league play. Both marks are program bests since opening 19-4 in 2016-17 and 13-3 in 1991-92.
• Last week, USC head coach Andy Enfield was named to the Naismith Trophy late season top 15 watch list.
• The Trojans are seeking at least a share of their first Conference title since 1984-85 (shared). USC’s last outright league title came in 1960-61.

82.7% - COLORADO is currently shooting 82.7 percent (335-405) from the free throw line as a team, which ranks first in NCAA Division I.
• Not only is Colorado’s free throw rate the best in the country so far, it is currently ahead of ARIZONA’s Conference-record rate of 78.6 percent (511-650) set in 2003-04 as well as the NCAA Division I record of 82.2 percent (535-651) set by Harvard in 1983-84.

PAC-12 TIPOFF

THIRD FASTEST TO 300: ARIZONA head coach Sean Miller collected his 300th career win with the Wildcats last week to become only the 11th in league history - and the third-fastest behind only Lute Olson and Hec Edmundson - to reach that mark within the Conference.

TRACKING LEAGUE PLAY: Through 96 league games as of Feb. 23, the average scoring margin is 10.7 points.
• 51 games have been decided by single digits
• 19 games has been decided by one possession (3 pts. or less)
• 4 overtime game (7 OT periods)
• 6 decided on team's final possession
• 20 games have been postponed (8 rescheduled and played; 9 rescheduled)

NON-CONFERENCE: Pac-12 programs have combined to post a .732 win percentage (52-19) in countable NCAA Division I non-conference contests so far in 2020-21.
• The .732 win percentage is the second-best for the Pac-12 over the past five seasons, just behind the .739 posted in 2019-20 when the league was projected to earn as many as six NCAA Tournament bids.

KEY NON-CONFERENCE VICTORIES:

POWER 6 OPPONENTS (5-9)
at Oregon State 71, California 63
Colorado 76, at Kansas State 58
Stanford 82, Alabama 64 (Asheville, N.C.)
#21 Oregon 83, Seton Hall 70 (Omaha, Neb.)
at UCLA 69, Marquette 60

PRESEASON CONFERENCE FAVORITES (5-4)
at Washington State 56, Texas Southern 52
at Washington State 71, Eastern Washington 68
at Arizona 70, Eastern Washington 67
at Oregon 69, Eastern Washington 52
at USC 91, UC Irvine 56

PAC-12 NATIONAL AWARDS CANDIDATES:

NAISMITH MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR
LATE SEASON TOP 15 WATCH LIST
Andy Enfield, USC

WOODEN AWARD PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LATE SEASON TOP 20 WATCH LIST
Evan Mobley, USC

NAISMITH TROPHY DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TOP 15 WATCH LIST
Evan Mobley, USC

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
TOP 10 CANDIDATES/FINALISTS

Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year
McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (Top 10 Candidate)

Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year
Chris Duarte, Oregon (Finalist)

Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year
Ziaire Williams, Stanford (Top 10 Candidate)

Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year
Oscar da Silva, Stanford (Top 10 Candidate)

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year
Evan Mobley, USC (Top 10 Candidate)

SENIOR CLASS AWARD
TOP 30 CANDIDATES
Oscar da Silva, Stanford
Chris Smith, UCLA

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

*Ineligible for Pac-12 & NCAA Tournaments due to self-imposed postseason ban. Remains eligible for Pac-12 regular-season championship.

PAC-12 WEEKLY SCHEDULE  (All games, tip times & TV broadcasts are subject to change)
For the most up-to-date schedules, visit Expanded Schedule

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

NATIONAL HONORS